"Book show tickets and order delivery"—becoming bank customers: Banks' new customer acquisition strategy

[Financial News] Major banks are reaching into customers' daily lives through nonfinancial services such as performance ticketing, food delivery and sports events. Their strategy is to expand their user bases through nonfinancial services and then connect those users to financial transactions.  
According to the banking sector on the 4th, the cumulative membership of Woori Bank's shared-growth cultural platform TWOTHEMOON, launched in April, surpassed 64,000 as of the end of last month. This milestone came about five months after the service began. TWOTHEMOON is emerging as a new touchpoint for the bank to meet customers beyond its existing financial channels, such as branches and banking apps. 
TWOTHEMOON is a shared-growth cultural platform that connects performance creators with audiences. Users can search for performances, watch related content and book tickets through the platform. In June, Woori Bank partnered with the Young Theatre Festival to sell tickets for performances by approximately 60 universities through TWOTHEMOON. In August, it held an invitation-ticket giveaway for the roughly 10,000-seat 2026 Woori Momocon, followed by an event offering entry tickets to Olympic Day Run 2026. 
A Woori Bank official explained, "The rate at which members are joining has accelerated compared with the early days of the service." The official added, "This is the result of drawing more users to the platform by rolling out major content one after another in July and August." 
Woori Bank plans to expand TWOTHEMOON's current content, which focuses on plays, musicals and concerts, to exhibitions, sports and local events organized in cooperation with local governments. The bank aims to broaden its user base by offering diverse content rather than limiting the platform to specific genres or age groups. 
This year, Woori Bank plans to expand its nonfinancial customer base through TWOTHEMOON. Next year, it intends to connect those users with banking services by introducing linked financial products. A Woori Bank official said, "We are considering launching financial products, such as installment savings accounts linked to TWOTHEMOON, with next year as our target."
Major commercial banks are also using nonfinancial services to attract banking customers. In August, Shinhan Bank launched the Ttaenggyeoyo Excellent Merchant Loan, which incorporates business data from Ttaenggyeoyo merchants, including sales, into loan limits and credit assessments. Ttaenggyeoyo is a delivery platform launched by Jin Ok-dong when he was CEO of Shinhan Bank. He is now chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, and the platform surpassed 10 million members as of last month. 
Rather than building a separate platform, Hana Bank has combined financial services with sports content through Soccer Play, a service within its Hana 1Q banking app that offers quizzes and game-outcome predictions. KB Kookmin Bank, meanwhile, operates the budget mobile service KB Liiv M to establish customer touchpoints in the telecommunications sector.
Behind banks' focus on nonfinancial services is the view that preferential interest rates and product terms alone are not enough to persuade customers to change their primary bank. Banks are therefore seeking to build relationships with customers through their daily activities first and then lead them to financial transactions. A banking-sector official said, "It is difficult to persuade customers to change their primary bank simply by selling financial products and offering interest-rate benefits." The official added, "That is why banks are creating new touchpoints through nonfinancial services closely connected to customers' daily lives."
[email protected] Lee Hyun-jung Reporter